RBC CAPITAL MARKETS NAMES INDUSTRY VETERAN TO LEAD U.S. MUNICIPAL FINANCE PUBLIC POWER GROUP

Additional Key Hires to Strengthen Public Power Municipal and Cooperative Team

NEW YORK, July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - RBC Capital Markets today announced that Harris Kretsge has joined the firm as a managing director and head of the U.S. Municipal Finance Public Power group. A 25-year veteran of the industry, Kretsge is one of the leading bankers in public power and a nationally recognized expert in providing financial and strategic solutions to municipally-owned and cooperative electric utilities. Most recently, he built and led the industry's top-ranked Public Power group, as the head of the Energy and Environment Group at JP Morgan.

Paul Neuhedel and Todd Holder have also joined RBC as Managing Directors. Neuhedel also joins from JP Morgan, where he was a key member of the public power team working with municipal utilities and electric cooperatives. Neuhedel, a well-known public power banker, is a frequent speaker on financing issues at industry conferences. Holder joins from Citigroup, where he focused on public power authorities and general government clients in Florida and Texas. The three new additions join RBC's current Public Power team, including managing directors Garth Salisbury in San Francisco and Scott Perlman in Cincinnati.

"We are committed to building a top-flight public power finance business and the addition of Harris, Paul and Todd is a major step in that direction," said Chris Hamel, head of Municipal Finance at RBC Capital Markets. "By adding three such prominent bankers in this industry, we are well-positioned to deliver financing solutions to municipally-owned and electric cooperative utilities across the country."

"RBC Capital Markets' Municipal Markets group is the ideal platform to grow a public power business; it is one of the top five municipal firms with a national footprint and full array of balance sheet solutions. Its top tier distribution capabilities and commitment to the municipal business are valuable assets for clients, particularly in these times of volatile market conditions," said Kretsge. "RBC's philosophy of establishing meaningful relationships with clients across an array of products and services is a perfect match for municipal and cooperative utilities as they face an increasingly complex environment," he added.

Kretsge joined JP Morgan in 1997 and became head of the Public Power group in 2000. Under his leadership, it was consistently among the top national firms in public power in terms of annual deal volume. Kretsge also led the firm's national municipal gas, rural electric cooperative, and tax-exempt corporate-backed business lines. Prior to that, he spent 12 years at Lehman Brothers where he led the Public Finance Quantitative Solutions Group. He will be based in New York and report to Jim Tricolli, managing director and head of RBC's Municipal Finance, East Region.

Neuhedel also joins RBC's New York office and will lead the firm's efforts with a number of municipal and cooperative electric utilities. He spent the previous 10 years at JP Morgan. Neuhedel's previous employment experience includes having worked with utilities in a variety of capacities including positions at Fitch, Ambac, the New York Power Authority and Long Island Lighting Company.

Holder joins RBC's Dallas Municipal Finance Office and will focus on public power authorities as well as general government clients in Florida and Texas. Prior to Citigroup, Holder spent time at Wachovia Securities and with Rauscher Pierce Refsnes, a predecessor firm of RBC Capital Markets. He started his 25-year public finance career with the Nebraska Higher Education Loan Program.

About RBC Capital Markets' Municipal Markets Group
RBC Capital Markets' municipal markets group employs more than 345 people in 26 cities, and in 2010 ranked seventh for senior managed negotiated transactions. The group provides products and services annually to hundreds of municipal issuers across a broad range of sectors, including: healthcare, higher education, housing, kindergarten to grade 12 education, public power, special districts, student loans and transportation. The firm is one of the country's most active underwriters of municipal bonds in terms of total number of senior managed issues, underwriting hundreds of issues annually. For more information, please visit www.rbccm.com/municipalfinance.

About RBC Capital Markets
RBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking arm of RBC and is consistently ranked among the top global investment banks. With over 6,300 employees, RBC Capital Markets is active globally in fixed income, foreign exchange, infrastructure finance, ECM, metals & mining and oil & gas. Working with clients through operations in Asia, Australia, the UK, Europe, and in every major North American city, RBC provides capital markets products and services from 75 offices in 15 countries. RBC Capital Markets has major hubs in New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.rbccm.com.

SOURCE RBC